Friday, 24 November 2017

Finally we get to the last of the new rehab horses, Tabby. She arrived the same day as the other horses and was the only one to arrive in shoes. As is usually the case, the remedial shoes which were intended to provide support were not in fact, as supportive as her feet are on their own.

Its also difficult for feet to remain balanced in shoes, as this photo shows clearly, since her foot has better balance once out of shoes and the lateral side is already less distorted.

There are 3 photos here as the middle one shows her feet immediately out of shoes, since the pads were completely masking her frogs in shoes. Her toe looks a little long but that is old hoof capsule will quickly grow out as her palmar hoof becomes stronger.

Again, a foot which is in fact less under-run and more supported out of shoes.

Thursday, 23 November 2017

On to photos of Dolly and at last the sun has come out again which has made everything so much easier, even if its still absolutely saturated underfoot! Dolly had cosmetically the worst feet when she arrived a couple of weeks ago but she was far from the lamest horse here.

Her palmar hoof was very under-developed but is beginning to be more balanced, an encouraging sign.

Although her frog looks narrower now its actually healthier with the split gone. Her heels are of course very contracted but are moving back so her foot is now more supportive than it was.

This foot more clearly shows the improvement in her palmar hoof which is less under-run and more upright.

This foot has a central sulcus split which is healing but which will take time. Frog stimulus will play an essential role in helping this to resolve.

A weedy foot, there is no doubt, and she is still landing toe first but its very early days and she is showing some signs of improvement.

Wednesday, 22 November 2017

I've only been able to get a partial selection of Brandy's comparison photos because the weather has been so gloomy for the last couple of days. I will try to take new comparison shots later today and post the remaining photos then.

As usual, the top photo is from the day he arrived and the lower photo is yesterday. The biggest change is in his frog and the placement of his heels which is exactly what we are wanting to see at this point.

He was landing worse on this foot when he arrived and he still has a toe first landing today but that is not uncommon at this stage as horses would normally only manage to change from toe first to heel first within 2 weeks if they have better-than-normal palmar hooves.

The toe on his right foot is also shortening and his frog and heels loading better but he already had a better landing on this foot when he arrived.

Tuesday, 21 November 2017

Wales and the other "new" rehab horses have now been here for 2 weeks so I will post updated photos this week. Unfortunately the weather yesterday and today is pretty gloomy so the picture quality is not as good as I would like and has also made filming difficult.

Still, here goes; as usual the upper photos show him on arrival and the lower is now. He of course has a very long way to go but there are signs of improvement in his frog which is the starting point for any rehabilitation of the palmar hoof.

He has not been trimmed so the shortening of the toe and the slightly less under-run heel have been achieved naturally. Importantly the toe is only moving back as fast as the palmar hoof strengthens.

The central sulcus splits he has in both front feet are going to take some time to heal; a better landing and lots of movement should be the best way to prevent them recurring in future.

This was Wales' worst foot and he was landing very toe first on it when he arrived. Today his landing is better - a best fractionally heel first, at worst flat.

There are no dramatic changes from this angle at this stage; it will normally take 4-6 weeks before a change in hairline is visible.

Rockley Farm's Blog

A diary of whats happening at Rockley, whether its news on rehab horses or on our own horses hunting and competing. All the horses are barefoot, and the blog includes updates on hoof rehabilitation and information about barefoot performance.

You can find out more about research, rehabilitation and our horses on the pages above or at our website: www.rockleyfarm.co.uk.